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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Link-O-Regency

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I meant to blog about this site earlier: RegencyRedingote which is one of the most amazing Regency-related history blogs I’ve come across. I feel dumb for not finding it sooner.

this post on chalking Regency ballroom floors is what brought me to the site. I had no idea this took place, but on reflection, it makes perfect sense.

During the Regency, ball-givers often had elaborate images chalked onto the ballroom floor in order to keep the dancers from slipping on the surface. Usually, they used white chalk, as ladies complained about colored chalk staining their slippers. But of course this makes sense!

Think ballet. I took ballet for years. Classes were almost always on a wooden floor and whether you were wearing flats or toe shoes, the soles were leather and we were, well, dancing. There was always a box of rosin in the corner for us to step in to give a little more grip if the floor were recently cleaned or your slippers were new or just because.

So yes! Chalk on the ballroom floors makes perfect sense. And it makes sense as well that people would get fancy about it.

Floral designs were very popular for chalk designs, often larger images of the same varieties of flowers which had been used to decorate the ballroom. Arabesques were also fashionable, and in fact, it was a series of complex arabesque patterns which were chalked on the ballroom floor at Carlton House on the night of the grand fête. Mythological and fanciful motifs might also be seen, such as nymphs, mermaids, centaurs, satyrs, sea gods and/or classical heros. Heavenly bodies, such as the sun, the moon, stars, planets, comets and shooting stars were also popular motifs. For those who had the right to bear them, their coat of arms might be chalked on the ballroom floor. At one ball during the Regency, the guest of a gentleman who had had his coat of arms chalked on the ballroom floor that evening is reported to have quipped that his host was dancing on his arms as well as his legs. Floral patterns were most common for engagement or wedding balls, though if either the bride or the groom had a coat of arms, that might be chalked on the floor, often in the center, surrounded by flowers. If the bride and groom both came from families with coats of arms, the coat of arms of the bride might be quartered with those of her new husband in the design which was chalked on the floor for their celebratory ball. The dance floor was frequently chalked for masquerades, oftentimes with figures in keeping with the theme of the masquerade. There are suggestions that the more risqué masquerades had equally risqué drawings chalked on their floors for the titillation of the dancers.

RegencyRedingote.com

This article, which is quite long and detailed, belongs on your list of wonderful information. The entire site belongs there. The author of the site is Kathryn Kane. Here’s her bio:

Historian with a particular interest the English Regency era. An avid reader of novels set in that time, holding strong opinions on the historical accuracy to be found in said novels.

Posted in Former Riskies, Jane Austen | Tagged , , , | 5 Replies

The Big Tease

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Next Wednesday I will have a very special guest here. Who you ask?

Candice Hern.

I’ll be grilling her mercilessly so be ready with questions. It’s going to be a fun day.

Updated To Add:  Oh my gosh, I have seen Candice’s answers to my questions and you guys!!! It’s so awesome. Be here next Wednesday September 28, because it’s an awesome interview.

One of These Things Doesn’t Belong

In other news, I finished the copy edits for my Regency historical Not Wicked Enough and am now back at work on the book to follow, Not Proper Enough.

Here’s a few teases about Not Wicked Enough. See if you can guess which one is false: (hint, YES, one of them IS A LIE!)

1. There is treasure in the book, shamelessly based on the recent finding of The Staffordshire Hoard. Lots of glittery gold!
2. There is a flaming pencil.
3. My heroine was a brunette until my publisher sent the cover. Now she’s blond.
4. The heroine offers to give the hero a recipe for coffee made from acorns.
5. There are TWO ladders at windows.
6. Hot sex in a turret.
7. There are puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.
8. The hero is a terrible dresser.
9. The heroine is a Regency Fashionista
10. At one point the exasperated heroine asks the hero if he expects every day to be savaged by wolves. (The hero does not think this is very funny)

Posted in Former Riskies, Jane Austen | Tagged , , , | 8 Replies

Interview with Candice Hern

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Please Welcome Candice Hern to the Riskies!

I’ve known Candice for a long time. She was a member of my local RWA chapter for quite a while. In fact, and she does not know this, but way back when I had enough nerve to actually show up to a local chapter meeting, that particular meeting involved all the published authors standing up, introducing themselves, and talking about what they hoped to most accomplish with their writing.

The fact that some 15 or so multi-published authors stood up and said they wanted to improve their writing and their writing process is the subject of another blog. Candice stood up, introduced herself and talked about her books a bit and I sat there thinking, wow. I want to be like her because it was obvious she was smart and passionate and knowledgeable. Over the years my impression of her was solidified. She’s a wonderful writer who is very generous with her knowledge about the industry and the Regency.

In addition to talking about her success with self-publishing, she’s been gracious enough to have a giveaway. So read all about Candice and her books and check out the book give away.

The Interview

Q: What the hay have you been up to? I know you’ve done some anthologies, but I can hardly tell you how excited I was when I saw you were self-publishing your backlist. You have a lot of fans of your Traditional Regencies and your Regency-set historicals, so YAY! Can you tell us about your decision to self-publish?

I spent almost 3 years away from writing while I was occupied with family matters. That’s a long time to be out of the game. (I did manage to write 2 novellas that were contracted, but that last one was difficult. It was due only 3 weeks after my father passed away, and the previous months had been spent dealing with his illness. I was still away from home and my mother was not well. But I somehow got the thing written.)

When I finally had my life back and could write again, I knew that big publishing gap would be a problem in selling another book. At about that time, two of my friends were e-pubbing their backlist books and doing extremely well. I had the rights back to my old Signet Regencies, and thought it would be smart to get those out there as ebooks, get some sales under my belt, before trying to sell a new book. And I am SO glad I did!

Q: How has your self-pub experience been? I know from my own experience that there is some pretty pent-up demand for certain Romances that have gone out of print and are now hard to find. My suspicion is that the Traditional Regency is an entire genre that has an eager readership that (maybe) isn’t large enough for print publishers, but is more than large enough for self-publishing. What’s your take on that?

I have found that many readers have been starving for good old traditional Regencies. When all the NY publishers dropped their Regency lines, the audience didn’t go away. They simply had no more books to buy. One of the reasons, in my opinion, that those Regency lines were dropped was because publishers wanted steamier and steamier historicals, which were selling like gang busters. But I think there has always been an audience that preferred a sweeter romance. Yes, it’s a smaller audience, but it is devoted.

I have also found a ton of new readers in the UK, where our old Signets were typically not sold. The UK readers have been fantastic, spreading the word to other UK readers, tweeting about my books, etc.


Q: Can you tell us about your backlist plans? What’s out there so far?

All six of my Signet Regencies are now out there as ebooks (A PROPER COMPANION, A CHANGE OF HEART, AN AFFAIR OF HONOR, A GARDEN FOLLY, THE BEST INTENTIONS, and MISS LACEY’S LAST FLING).

I also have the rights back to my Merry Widows trilogy (IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT, JUST ONE OF THOSE FLINGS, and LADY BE BAD). Those are not traditional Regencies, but sexier Regency-set historicals. I will be publishing those as ebooks over the next few months.

Q: Tell us about your first book, A Proper Companion

The first book I epubbed was A PROPER COMPANION. It was the first book I ever wrote. Emily works as a companion to an elderly, but feisty, dowager countess in Bath. The dowager’s favorite grandson, Robert, has just announced his engagement to a beautiful girl from a family she finds unacceptable (they’re social-climbing mushrooms). Since it is clearly not a love match, the dowager has no scruples about doing her best to see the betrothal fall apart, so she and Emily go to London so she can interfere. She also decides to do a bit of match-making for Emily, who is very well-born, but penniless. Of course, Robert and Emily are very attracted to each other. But he’s engaged, so what can they do?

Buy A Proper Companion (various formats)

Q: That book was originally published in 1995. Do you have any funny or scandalous stories about that book? If not, can you make one up?

As I mentioned, A PROPER COMPANION was the first book I ever wrote. It became published, in 1995, as the result of winning a writing contest sponsored by an RWA chapter. It’s full of first-book issues — the hero and heroine are both gorgeous, both perfect. There’s way too much description of fashion. And I hadn’t quite mastered the idea of point-of-view. Actually, it seems I figured it out about half-way through, but the early chapters were full of head-hopping.

When I decided to self-publish it as a ebook, I had to have the physical book scanned as the original files were no longer available. In proofing the scans, there was SO much I wanted to change, especially those POV problems in the early chapters. But it would have meant serious re-writing, which I didn’t want to do. So I only tweaked it a bit, made a few changes to dialog tags and such, things I’ve gotten better at over the years. No major changes, though. It’s still 99.9% the same as the original.

Q: Why do you love the Regency? And do you have a picture (or link) to your favorite Regency-era gown?

I have been a collector of Regency-era stuff for years. (You can see some of that stuff on my website, here: http://www.candicehern.com/collections/index.htm). As a serious collector, I had studied the period well, the context in which my collections were made, and over time developed a sizable reference library. I grew to love the period as a sort of bridge from the pre-industrial age to the modern age.

But I will confess that it was the fashion that hooked me from the beginning. I was always fascinated by this period of loose skirts that skimmed the body, squashed between two periods of giant hooped skirts. Only 20-25 years of beautiful classical lines. Here one of my favorites, a Full Dress from Feb 1815:

I also truly believe it is in large part the fashion that makes the period so popular to readers. I think it is much easier for a reader to imagine herself as the heroine, wearing these beautiful Regency gowns, than it is to picture herself in Victorian crinolines or Medieval double-horned headdresses. Regency dress is somehow more accessible to us. Heck, I remember (dating myself here) wearing empire-waisted grannie dresses in the late 1960s. But never in our lifetimes have we worn anything close to crinolines and stomachers. We can relate to a Regency gown.


Q: Tell us about Miss Lacey’s Last Fling.

The last of my Signet Regencies, MISS LACEY’S LAST FLING, is my riskiest Regency. I knew it would be my last, as I saw the lines folding elsewhere and knew the writing was on the wall for Signet. I also knew that my next book would be a Regency-set historical, ie a sexier book. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and add a little sex to my Regency. It’s nothing too steamy (it’s still a trad, after all), but there is actual sex in the story. It’s about a young woman who believes she only has about 6 months to live. Since she’s never actually LIVED (as Auntie Mame would say), she decides to pack in a lifetime of experience into a few months. Including a little nookie.

I really loved writing this book. It was inspired by that old TV show (dating myself again) “Run For Your Life” with Ben Gazzara. He was a man with some disease or other that was going to kill him, and he decided to spend his last days doing all sorts of things he’d never done. I thought, what if this story was set in the Regency, what would he do? Better yet, what if the person dying was a woman? What would she do? So, my Miss Lacey makes a list. And in what she believes are her last months to live, she becomes full of life, passion, adventure. When it came time to create a hero for her, I decided, as I most often do, that he had to be her opposite. So, what is the opposite of someone who wants to live life to its fullest? How about a man who’s bored with life and tired of living?

Anyway, it’s a fun book and I am rather proud of it. (It won the Bookseller’s Best Award for Best Regency of 2001.)

Buy Miss Lacy’s Last Fling (Various formats)

Q: You’re an avid collector of things Regency. Can you tell us about a recent or favorite acquisition?

This week I bought 10 new French fashion prints — from 1812, 1813, and 1818. But a recent favorite acquisition is the original watercolor painting that was used for the same French publication as this week’s prints: Le Journal des Dames et des Modes. It’s a painting by Horace Vernet, who designed a lot of the French fashion prints. I was pretty stunned to find it at a local print and drawing sale.

Q: I’ve heard rumors that you’re working on a brand new book. Is that true? If it is, what can you tell us about it?

All those years I wasn’t writing, I was sitting on a proposal for a new historical series. It’s about two aristocratic widows in financial difficulties who start a business for young ladies. You’ve heard of wedding planners? These are Season Planners. They help girls without the right connections to navigate the social season. Each book is about one of their clients, each of whom presents seemingly impossible obstacles, eg a merchant class background, a trio of dead fiances, a mother who’s a famous courtesan, etc. A nephew of the two Season Planners is a young man based on Beau Brummell, who will help to turn a few sow’s ears into silk purses.

This series, as I mentioned, was planned as a series of sexy historical romances. When I saw how much more money I could make by self-publishing it, I decided it made more sense to continue self-publishing rather than try to get a contract for peanuts through a NY publisher. Then, when I got such fabulous feedback from my e-Regencies, I decided to turn this series into traditional Regencies. One of the best things about self-publishing is that you can do whatever you want. I don’t have to worry that there are no more Regency lines anymore. I can create my own line. And that’s what I’m going to do.

The first book is called THE SOCIAL CLIMBER, and I hope to release it in time for Christmas shopping! You can see the cover and read an excerpt on my website, here: http://www.candicehern.com/coming.htm

Q: What’s next for you?

I have to finish THE SOCIAL CLIMBER! Then, if there’s time, I want to try to write a Regency Christmas novella. After that, the next book in the Season Planner series.

Ohh!! A book Giveaway!

For your chance to win a copy of Candice’s most recent book, the anthology IT HAPPENED ONE SEASON, with novellas by Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’Alessandro, and Candice, leave a comment for Candice!

The Rules:

Void where prohibited, no purchase necessary. Winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, so leave your comment by midnight, Wednesday!

Posted in Former Riskies, Jane Austen | Tagged , , , | 31 Replies

The smelling like badgers contest

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What would you like to do if you were to spend a week or so immersed in Regency life?

I’m not talking about reenactment so much as a situation like the bizarrely inaccurate Regency House Party series, 2004. And by the way, isn’t I smelt like a badger the whole time a wonderful headline? This is one of many articles online about the project, and you can view episodes on Youtube.)

I have the book tho it’s over the husband’s side of the bed because he likes the pictures. And that was the strength of the series, I thought–how everyone looked absolutely right in the clothes, and the house, Kentchurch Court in Herefordshire, was gorgeous. But really, other than agonizing over the chamberpots (oh come on, the Regency had indoor plumbing… ), the women were very bored. As one of the participants reported

The narrow round of permitted activities: ‘a walk around the corridor to view the portraits’, needlework, pianoforte practice (to entertain the gentlemen in the evening) was hardly stimulating and quickly exhausted. Six modern independent girls slumped into a Regency lethargy. Relieved of all work and responsibility, most became little girlies who giggled over hot chocolate after lights out (11pm) while I found myself climbing trees like a tomboy. Our infantalising party frocks were more likely to tempt Mr Darcy to give us a balloon and a pat on the head than a proposal of marriage. More

So if you were to be a Regency lady of leisure for a limited amount of time, how would you entertain yourself in what was a very homosocial society? At least in the daytime when the boys were off doing boy things? Or would you, like Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, become one of the boys too?

What would you suggest as activities for women that would be, more or less, historically accurate, but be of interest to history geeks (or not)? And what activities would you suggest for both men and women (other than the obvious) that would actually be fun?

You’ve guessed it. This is for the WIP. There will be prizes for the two suggestions I like best–your choice of a packet of tea from the Jane Austen Series at Bingley’s Teas(US only). I’ll be picking a winner on Monday.

So come up with something fun and creative!

 

Posted in Giveaways, Jane Austen | Tagged , , | 18 Replies

Karen Doornebos interview and giveaway

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Our guest today is debut author Karen Doornebos whose book, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, takes on a subject we talk about quite often here–seeing what modern characters would get up to in a Regency setting. Her publishers have kindly agreed to give away three copies of the book (isn’t that a great cover?)

Doornebos gives the historical romance novel a hilarious update in this delightful debut… The amusing secondary characters, sidesplitting faux pas, and fiery romance will make Doornebos an instant hit with readers. Starred Review from Publisher’s Weekly

Doornebos brings readers a fresh take on Jane Austen’s world. Mixing reality television with Regency-style romance, this tale combines a fun plot with witty dialogue, charming characters and a strong-willed heroine. It will leave you laughing in delight and reluctant to put it down until the last page is read. 4 1/2 out of 5 Stars from RT Book Reviews

Janet, how honored I am to step into your parlor here to talk to you about my debut novel, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy. How nice of you to pour me a cup of tea! Thank you for having me…

Most gracious of you to accept and wherever I am, tea is too! How did you come up with the idea?

Funny you should ask this! I was at a writer’s conference sharing the first draft of my book when another writer said, “Regency reality show? That’s been done! It’s called ‘Regency House Party’.”

After I freaked, I thought, well, I better check this thing out. And I did, and of course it was completely different from my book! Still, I did credit the “House” series in my Acknowledgment Page, as I credited “The Bachelor” TV show.

I loved the “House” series and I did use “Regency House Party” for some of my research.
I enjoyed the program, it informed some of my research, but it didn’t inspire the book.

Here’s what did inspire the book: After college graduation I lived and worked in London for six months as an employee communications writer, and I always knew I would write something about my beloved England.

But it wasn’t until my husband and I went to a Victorian (not Regency) health spa in California in the late 1990s (yes, that was in the previous century!) that the idea hit me—literally. The spa had these old, outdoor stone baths with water from the hot springs, and it sounded so romantic, so relaxing—but when we put our swim suits on to head to the baths, a waft of rotten egg smell hit us. My husband informed me the smell was sulphur from the springs.

Now, I’ve always been a Jane Austen fan, but on that vacation the idea hit me: what if a Jane Austen fan gets to “visit” the Regency era—but it stinks!! That was where the idea began.

You’ve managed to have three heroes! Congratulations. Tell us about them.

First we meet George Maxton, the show producer, and he’s hot. All three of the men are hot in their own way. George’s appeal is not only his cropped auburn hair, his snug-fitting jeans and the way he wears his sunglasses, but the fact that he is so NOW. He’s all plugged into his iPhone and his iPad, he talks really fast, and he’s just completely modern.

Soon enough we meet two other heroes, and I can’t divulge their names! But, one has blond hair that falls into his brown eyes. He wears glasses and he’s very attentive and witty. The other is dark-haired, dark-eyed, and buff. He always seems to know exactly what to say to make our heroine happy… Both of these gentlemen look very fetching in their breeches, boots, and cravats.

One of the memorable aspects of the Regency House Party TV show was how bored most of the women are (although I think that was one of the worst inaccuracies of the series). How did you handle this?

Nobody in this reality show is ever bored! There are tasks and challenges galore and I dreamed up every Regency fantasy I would want to enjoy myself, and that included:
• Archery
• A mock fox hunt
• A tea party
• Making her own ink
• Learning fanology
• And a ball, of course!
Chloe Parker, my main character, procrastinates her needlework much to her detriment and her piano playing isn’t up to snuff.

Tell us about your research.

I used so many sources for my research—I couldn’t even begin to count them, however, here are some of the coolest:

• Jane Austen’s letters (Deirdre Le Faye will be having a new edition coming out in November!)
• A Jane Austen Encyclopedia
• Jane Austen’s Regency World Magazine
• Tons of websites, including: The Jane Austen Centre in Bath

If you were in a Regency reality show, what would you miss the most?

Plumbing! I’ve lived my entire life without men in breeches, boots, and cravats (unfortunately) but I couldn’t survive without plumbing!

What would you enjoy the most?

Come on, I would enjoy the gentlemen! But, if I had to choose something else, it would be: the tranquility that must come from being unplugged.

Which is your favorite Austen?

Book: Pride and Prejudice, my first love, but Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Sense and Sensisbility and Emma rank very close in that order.
Adaptation: 1995 A&E Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. Need I say more? You know where I stand! I also happen to ADORE the 1995 BBC version of Persuasion. 1995 was a very good year for me and I relive it via DVD as much as possible.

I love that version of Persuasion too! What’s up next for you?

Great question! I’m promoting my first book right now, have a second one in the works, and I’m putting together proposals for a third…Jane Austen Action figure is on my desk, at the ready!

So ladies … share your favorite Regency fantasy/favorite Regency hero with Karen, and you could win a copy of Definitely Not Mr. Darcy!

Posted in Giveaways, Jane Austen | Tagged , , | 23 Replies